Richard Wong

1935 - 2020

Richard Wong, an extraordinary, accomplished Chinese-American attorney who dedicated his life to advancing the lives and rights of Chinese Americans, passed away peacefully with his cherished family at his side in Park City, Utah on Friday, July 31, 2020. He had just turned 85 the previous week.

Richard was widely respected and much loved. His legacy as a scholar, lawyer, community leader, advocate for fairness and honesty, trusted business associate and loyal friend will long be remembered. But above all else, his most treasured roles were as a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle. His love and generosity knew no bounds and his adventurous spirit and passion for hosting big parties, travel, fishing and skiing will forever be legendary.

A third-generation, New York City born, bred and based Chinese American, Richard was one of six children, the sole "special" son of Fred and Florence Wong, raised on Chinatown's Mott and Bayard Streets. His family was distinguished in that his grandfathers on both sides were established merchants who read and wrote the Chinese language fluently, allowing them to bypass the Chinese Exclusion Act that prohibited immigration of Chinese laborers. Education was of utmost importance, a value his family firmly instilled in him and one that Richard honored by being the first grandson to earn a college degree.

Richard attended local Chinatown schools and qualified for admission to Stuyvesant, the elite New York City public high school, where he excelled in math and science. As was common for Chinese students at the time, he was encouraged to pursue an engineering degree and was advised to apply to just one college. At Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, he earned a B.S.E. in mechanical engineering in 1956 and was invited to join Pi Tau Sigma, the mechanical engineering honor society. After graduation, he took a position in New York City with Ebasco Services, a major architectural engineering firm.

Two years later, Richard enlisted in the U.S. Navy, aspiring to fly Navy jets. While he excelled on all other tests, he failed the stringent vision requirements. With the draft closing in, he enrolled in Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. Thereafter, he was assigned to the Naval Civil Engineers Corps and then the elite Construction Battalion – commonly known as the Seabees – stationed in the Pacific on Guam and in Stockton, California. At the young age of 25, he found himself leading divisions of 250 sailors. After leaving active duty in 1963, he remained in the Naval Reserves until 1984 when he retired with the rank of Commander of the U.S. Navy.

Following his Navy service, Richard reluctantly returned to Ebasco, where he became increasingly frustrated by discrimination and barriers to advancement. Moreover, he disliked the isolated nature of the work and lack of opportunity to interact with people in a meaningful way. His desire to expand his horizons motivated him to concurrently enroll at New York University Graduate School of Business (today, the Leonard N. Stern School of Business) where he earned an M.B.A. in 1966, an experience he called "easy" due to the proximity of the school to his office.

But this was not enough; Richard was eager to truly make a difference. Three months after receiving his M.B.A., he enrolled at New York University School of Law, just one of two Asians in his class. He excelled from the start: in his first year, he finished first in his class and went on to become an editor on the New York University Law Review, publishing Labor Law Comment, 42 NYU Law Review 972. In 1969, Richard received his J.D., finishing at the top of his class and earning the high honor of membership in the Order of the Coif.

After graduating, Richard declined a lucrative offer to be the first Chinese-American associate at the white-shoe firm Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP. Instead, he took a position as Law Secretary to an NYU law professor, Irving Younger, a well-known litigator and legal scholar who had just been elected to the New York City Civil Court. Judge Younger was highly influential on Richard's future, a mentor and a friend, opening Richard's eyes to the power of community involvement and politics to foster change.

When he completed his clerkship in the early 1970s, only a handful of attorneys were practicing in Chinatown. Richard boldly decided to hang his own shingle. With established attorney Benjamin Gim, he formed Gim & Wong, a partnership that would endure for 26 years. Richard was a pioneer in serving the Chinese community's legal needs, paving the way for hundreds of individuals and families to immigrate and naturalize as U.S. citizens and establish their own roots. Richard also helped new businesses and organizations in Chinatown set up shop for the greater community. He provided legal counsel to numerous local banks including the Chinese American Bank, Bank of China and Global Bank, served as pro bono counsel to the Wong Family Association and the Sun Wei Association (Sun Wei is the district in the Guangdong province where his family originated) and pushed for legislation on behalf of the Chinese Herbalist Association to expand the work of Chinese herbalists and acupuncturists.

Richard's work may have begun with legal representation, but this was by no means the end of his efforts to serve his community. The list of boards, associations and committees he served on (many of which he helped found) is myriad. These included organizing the first Chinese-American Lawyers Association, being an early supporter of the Chinese-American Planning Council, and serving as a director of the Asian-American Legal Defense League (today, the Asian-American Legal Defense and Education Fund) and the NYU Law Alumni Association, as well as memberships on committees of Asians for Equal Opportunity, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the American Bar Association. Undoubtably, Richard's presence on local community boards and powerful zoning commissions significantly shaped the development of Chinatown in the second half of the 20th century.

A prominent Democrat and member of the Lexington Democratic Club and the Lower Manhattan Democratic Organization (among others), Richard was repeatedly approached to run for public office. Ultimately, he demurred, preferring to ally with influential politicians and support the election of public officials who would fight discrimination, promote Chinese-American visibility, equal opportunity and the basic civil liberties he so cared about.

In 1976, Richard was appointed by Governor Hugh Carey to a five-year term as a commissioner of the New York State Human Rights Appeals Board, the highest position held by a Chinese American in the state of New York at the time. When Richard Nixon's historic visit to China opened the country to U.S. delegations, Richard was among the first Chinese-American "civilians" to enter the country.

Richard also found the bandwidth to serve as an adjunct professor at St. John's University School of Law teaching immigration law and as a Trustee of Beth Israel Medical Center (today, Mount Sinai Beth Israel) where for 25 years he served as the sole Asian on the Board. He later founded the "Asian Services" program at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, established to meet the health needs of the Asian community by providing equal access to care and support services, and introducing traditional Chinese medicine practices.

Even with all this on his plate, Richard's first priority was always to "be there" for his immediate and extended family.

Richard met, wooed and in 1964, wed Mabel Wing, a professional dancer who had performed in the original cast on Broadway in Rodger & Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song and at the storied Hotel Lexington Hawaiian Room. Known as Mae, she was one of seven sisters raised in the Bronx. With Richard's guidance and support, Mae purchased and managed a portfolio of commercial and residential property in Chinatown. Their daughter Boji was born in 1974, and then a son Richard (R.T.) in 1980. Richard's children later followed in their father's footsteps, with Boji earning a J.D. at NYU Law and Richard an MBA at NYU Stern.

While the Wong family home base remained deeply rooted in Chinatown, Richard established outposts in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii; Milan, New York; Freeport, Long Island; and Weston and Celebration, Florida. Richard was legendary for organizing epic family adventures, including deep sea fishing trips on his Grady-White boat, the "Blue Dragon," and numerous summers spent zig-zagging the country in an RV. Over time, the Wongs visited all 50 of the United States.

Nothing could keep Richard down – not even a debilitating stroke suffered in 1996 while fishing in the Florida Keys. He defied the devastating prognosis, learning to drive and ski again, and took up horseback riding, earning three "Devon blues" and a Perpetual Trophy, a top honor in dressage at the Devon Horse Show, a premier equestrian event. He also represented the Miami Ski Team in the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinics multiple times at Snowmass, Colorado. While he retired from the practice of law, Richard continued to collect honorary awards and accolades for his extensive service.

In addition to his wife Mae, Richard is survived by his daughter Boji, her husband Benjamin Berkman and their children Lily, Jacob and Kira of Park City; his son Richard Tang, his wife Lynn Schmidt and their children Mia and Alexander of New York City, as well as sisters Corinne Louie, Fayette Leung and Carole Wong Chesek. He was predeceased by sisters Phyllis Lee and Janet Moy. Richard leaves 35 beloved nieces and nephews and their spouses and children, hundreds of "close friends" and an even greater numbers of admirers. In his last years, he continued to travel to Florida where he enjoyed the warm sunshine in the winter months and time spent with his five grandchildren.

A private burial took place in early August. A celebration of the life of Richard Wong will be scheduled and announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly asks that donations be made in his honor to the
Richard Wong Family Education Fund
at Friends Seminary (222 East 16th Street, New York, NY 10003), which provides assistance to students of Chinese ancestry, in recognition of Richard's lifelong legacy of devotion to his family, community, the importance of education and "giving back". In his own words, "Whatever you give, comes back double."

He will be missed.